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Medical and Other

M.I.T., Center for Transportion Logistics (CTL), Visual Analytics Lab Consult  
2017 

  • This new lab has been formed to develop immersive visualizations for the rest of the CTL.

  • Introduced senior staff to the basics of VR/AR technology, approaches to decision-making on its relevant and effective uses, management of projects, and immersive scientific visualizations. Used a programmer/artist team to demonstrate possible applications. Helped them select the equipment they wanted and optimize their usage. 

  • The outcome clarified direction and reduced risk. Lab construction is now underway. 

Luminopia
2017 

  • Luminopia, a startup launched from the Harvard Innovation Labs, has recently collected six million dollars on funding for its VR cure for Amblyopia (Lazy Eye).

  • Collaborated with the CEO and top administrator in a scientific literature review and ideation to support development of their next generation product.  

  • Identified several viable product concepts to their great satisfaction. 

Dean Travers Co-Founder and CEO of Luminopia

 

"I first properly met Jeff around 2 months ago, and in the time since then it has been a pleasure to dive in and work with him. His knowledge of VR is unrivaled, and his ability to rapidly adapt to a changing landscape is commendable. He’s been able to provide direction, sage advice, and a healthy dose of “devils advocate!” But beyond the usual complements, it has been an intellectual adventure to attack problems and continually brainstorm with Jeff, as well as push the status quo! If you have the chance to work with him, then I’d highly recommend it!"

Medical Virtual Reality Center (MVRC)

1998 - 2002

  • In 1998, experts on balance disorders at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center needed an efficient way to test the effect of visual stimuli on people with balance problems in realistic simulations.

  • They hired me to build a new Medical Virtual Reality Center (MVRC), mostly a single room centered on a CAVE-like display. (Head-mounted displays at the time were not adequate.)

  • The doctors have been using this lab and the VR system to produce quality research to this day.  

  • Tools:  Unreal Engine, CaveUT, LabView, SVN

  • Team:  I built the cave with help from skilled carpenters, installed and configured the VR software, built and ran the lab.  Many others were involved. 

  • See:  http://www.mvrc.pitt.edu/facility.html

  • Returned as a contractor in 2004 and 2006 to upgrade the system.

CaveUT:  A tool to use a game engine for virtual reality.

1998 - 2006

  • In 1999 we needed a quick and efficient way to develop content on our CAVE-like display at the Pittsburgh Medical Center, and the software available at the time was primitive. 

  • I programmed and freely distributed a modification to the game, Unreal Tournament, which allowed a network of computers to use the game to drive any multiscreen projection display.  It depends on VRGL, an OpenGL library that rests between the game engine and the system, which I also created. From that starting point, I supervised three programmers who extended both tools greatly. 

  • This project allowed users with modest budgets to buy a few copies of the game and use the built-in editing tools to create their own virtual world. CaveUT could display any environment made for the game, and thousands were being created by fans across the country. 

  • I managed the efforts of many other contributors to the free software, which developed as the Unreal Tournament became the Unreal Engine. 

  • I published and demonstrated it widely. and it was used in many projects, eventually garnering over 500 citations in the scientific literature. I finally retired it in 2010.  See:  http://publicvr.org/html/pro_caveut.html and http://publicvr.org/html/pro_vrgl.html 

Training Documents for Complex Truck Maneuvers 
2012 – 2017   UX Design, Mentoring

  • Driving a tractor-trailer truck is difficult to learn, which is why New England Tractor Trailer Training School (NETTTS) exists. In 2012, too many students were failing the hardest part of their driver testing, three maneuvers that each required backing up the truck and its trailer into a target location. 

  • To solve the problem, I worked with their top instructors to extract their best knowledge and created printed diagrams that illustrate the steps of maneuvers.

  • It is not a manual, but a communication tool between student and instructor. It was also a means of enforcing consistency among instructors. (There are at least a dozen right ways to execute each maneuver but teaching more than one at a time confuses the students.) 

  • Where the plans were introduced and faithfully used, pass rates improved (30% in one case) and consistency of teaching among instructors improved. They have called me back three more times, over the years, to update their plans to meet changing conditions.

Michael de Mars, Regional Director of Safety and Training at NETTTS

"Just a note to any who are planning to work with Mr. Jacobson. I have worked with Jeffrey many occasion and on several projects or the past seven years or so. I have always found him to be the picture of professionalism. He is very personable and has the ability to work with anyone. The projects we worked on was not the norm but Jeffery was able to bring a sense of order as it evolved. It was a pleasure to work with Jeffrey and I highly recommend him. Thanks again Jeff"

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